4. Regular fees

Are you responsible for obligations payable quarterly or annually? If so, it’s best to divide the total by three or 12, respectively, to get the monthly amount. Then, store the necessary funds away so you won’t be caught off-guard.

Examples of such expenses include homeowner association fees and subscriptions. If your HOA fee is $300 quarterly, $100 should automatically be set aside each month to take care of the expense when it arises.

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5. Special events

Say your lifelong friend has decided to tie the knot, or one of your child’s friends from school is having a birthday bash. Do you have the funds on hand to cover the cost of being a bridesmaid or to purchase a gift?

If not, you may have to borrow to make it happen or decline to attend. Or, you can budget money for special events so you’re covered when one pops up.

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6. Health care

Monthly premiums for health insurance can be expensive, and that’s before copays and deductibles.

To cover these costs, you can either go into debt and pay interest, or plan ahead and have money set aside.

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7. Road trips

Do you have money set aside to cover an extra tank of gas if you need it? You never know when you’ll need to make a quick trip to tend to important business or to check on a loved one.

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8. Service calls

The water heater can suddenly die, or your furnace may go on the fritz. So, make sure you tuck away money for such unpredictable failures.

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9. Utility consumption

When temperatures outside reach extreme lows, you might crank up the thermostat to stay comfy and wind up overextending your budget.